Cab Ride
by Angle1
Summary: With the stress of life, Kaoru is doing something she would never ever do. A strange red-headed man brings the life back into Kaoru...but can she keep her emotional distance? Can Kaoru cope having such a realionship with a stranger? Modern A/U K/K drabble
1. Chapter 1

A/n 'Ello lovely readers. Okay. So I'm sitting here in the middle of the night having some writers block and being pretty much in a nasty mood when my friend gave me a writing prompt. Write something your characters would never do. Or something along those lines. And then I decided to post it here. There is more to this story, but posting it will fore me to keep writing…even if it's drabbles. It's not very good and It lacks in details being that I wrote it over a hour ago… so forgive the crudeness. It is just a drabble.

Disclaimer. I don't own Kenshin

* * *

Kaoru had no idea what made her do it. Normally she was a very good, responsible girl. And good, responsible girls don't go home with strangers. But here she was, looking up at the high-rise apartment building and the red head that waited for her to step inside.

… . . …

Forty-five minutes earlier

… . . …

Kaoru sighed as she walked out into the rain. Her business meeting at the restaurant had ran far longer than she thought it would. Kaoru worked with a textile company and scoring this new job would help her earn millions of yen for her company. The meeting went well, Kaoru brought her leather portfolio full of her sketches and small swatches of fabric samples and everyone seemed to love all her ideas. But then, as Kaoru was about to leave…her luck suddenly changed. The restaurant had lost her coat, believing that some one had stolen it. Kaoru could do nothing but give them her name and phone number in case they found it.

So now Kaoru stepped from the warm quiet restaurant and into the torrent of summer rain. Clutching her portfolio of samples to her chest, Kaoru quickly made her way across the sidewalk to where her car was parked. Her azure eyes scanned the pavement before her as she carefully stepped off the sidewalk, mindful to keep her high heels from the deepest of the puddles. It was then that she noticed she had a flat. Freezing on the side of the road Kaoru couldn't believe what she was seeing. She didn't just have a flat tire. She had a tire-so-flat-the rim-was-touching-the-street kind of flat. the kind of flat that ruins tires. The kind of flat that Kaoru knew she couldn't fix. Not now in the rain, with a knee high skirt and baby blue silk blouse on or in heels that were a tad too high for her.

"Damn it!" She cursed. Around her dozes of people rushed around in the rain, traffic flowed. The nearest subway station was over two blocks away. Kaoru clutched her portfolio tighter to her chest as if her soaked clothes would help protect it. She would have to hail a cab if she was going to have a fighting chance of getting out of the rain soon.

There is a skill needed to hail a cab on a busy Friday night while the sky was pouring rain. Kaoru unfortunately didn't posses a bit of this skill.

"Taxi!" She shouted as yet another cab rumbled past her. It had been the sixth cab she had seen. She had long ignored the fact that she was now completely soaked through and even come to the point of using her portfolio to hold over her head to shield her eyes from the rain. Even though it was summer, she was starting to get cold. Perhaps it would have been a better idea if she went to the subway. She would at least be in the underground station right now and out of the rain. Cursing her luck again she about threw herself off the sidewalk waving her arm out as traffic flowed and a taxi came into view. But again the yellow car rumbled off without even a pause. "Ohh, that's it!" She growled and she turned to start walking to the subway. She stopped trying to use her portfolio for an umbrella and just gave in to fate.

Kaoru turned toward the blinding lights of the traffic and started walking. But she had hardly taken more than five steps when a taxi yanked itself out of the flow of cars and pulled up to the sidewalk beside her. The window rolled down.

"Hey!" Called the cab driver. "The gentleman here wants to share his cab with you! He said he'll take you anywhere you want to go!" He shouted over the rumble of traffic and the hiss of rain.

Hope lit up Kaoru's face for a second, but she was far too polite. "No, I can't be a bother like that. But thank you." She turned to continue on her way.

"Come on! The cab driver said, his face had a bright, easy going smile. "It's raining."

As if she didn't notice. "No, thank you, but the subway is just down there, I can walk. Just then the taxi door popped open and the rider leaned out so she could see him. Kaoru caught a flash of red hair and bright purple eyes in the glow of traffic.

"It's no trouble, you'll catch your death out there." he said and smiled waving her in. "I don't bite, that I don't."

Kaoru paused. Was it because it was raining, or because it was a sudden turn in her luck or was it because the man riding in the taxi looked kind of cute and at least sounded nice. Kaoru wasn't sure what made her do it. "Oh, what the hell." She said and smiled as she stepped over to the cab. The man disappeared back in the darkness of the car as he moved over to give her room. Kaoru ducked into the shelter of the car and slammed the door taking a deep breath, relived to be out of the rain.

"That's more like it miss." The cab driver said as he turned around and carefully merged back into traffic.

"I've been stuck out in the rain trying to hail a cab before." The man beside her said. "I know what it's like."

Kaoru turned to him and gave him a grateful smile. It was only then that she caught a better look at him. He didn't look much taller than her, though it was hard to tell sitting in a cab. He looked a few years older and had a slight frame. His face had soft features, almost like a girl and his shock of red hair was long, very long.

"I caught pneumonia and was sick for three weeks." He finished .

"Thank you." Kaoru said, embarrassed to be in such a close space with a stranger. She mashed her wet, dripping hair down around her ears

"No problem." he said. "Where are you headed?"

"Anywhere on the east side." Kaoru said as she continued pulling her dripping hair from her face. "It wasn't suppose to rain today…was it?" Small talk…also not a skill Kaoru possessed.

He chuckled, "No it wasn't" the man paused as Kaoru clamped her arms around her body and shivered from the cold. He angled his body slightly and shrugged out of his business jacket. "Take your blouse off and put this on." he held the jacket out.

Kaoru was mortified she turned half her body to look at him. "I beg your pardon?!"

"You're soaked, that you are. You'll never warm up if you don't take that soggy thing off, that you wont.. Go ahead, I won't look I swear it." To prove his point the man lifted the jacket to cover his face.

"You best listen to the gentleman." The cabbie said, looking over his shoulder. "What he says is right."

The man moved the jacket slightly to cover her from the cab driver's eyes.

"No I'm fine" Kaoru insisted.

"You don't look fine. You're shivering, your skin is pale, go ahead and put it on." The man urged gently.

"I'll get it all wet." She protested.

"It'll dry. You're an inch from getting sick."

Kaoru hugged herself tighter and looked out the window. "You sound like my mother."

"I do?" He lowered the jacket to flash her a surprised look. "Thank you."

"It's not a complement." She said, but she couldn't help but smile at his soft laughter as he held the jacket up again.. "Just take your blouse off and put it on."

Kaoru knew her mouth was hanging open and that she was softly shaking her head no, but found that her fingers were already undoing the buttons of her wet silk blouse. The garment had molded to her skin anyways, leaving nothing to their imagination she was sure. But still, why was she taking off her clothes in a taxi by order of she strange man? It took her a moment because the chill was making her hands shake but she was able to undo all the buttons and she peeled the blouse from her body. She had no idea what made her do it. Maybe it was the way he sounded, or the fact that she was freezing.

The cabbie strained to look in his review mirror and caught a glimpse of a white lace bra before the man shifted slight to cover her more. "Eyes on the road my friend." The red-head said and the cabbie chuckled as he turned back to the road.

Kaoru slipped her arms into the sleeves and he helped her into the jacket. She quickly did up all the buttons to keep him from getting an eye full. The jacket was warm from his body and Kaoru already felt herself sinking into a more comfortable feeling. She shyly glanced over at the red-head. "Thank you."

"No problem." he said. Happy now, he relaxed back in the cab. He gazed at her. "Wow." he said, his body froze for an instant as he took her face in.

Kaoru felt a blush crawling up her neck to her face as she tried to look away from him.

"Are those contacts or is that your real eye color?"

She knew it. Everyone did a double take when they saw her blue eyes. It was rare in a world of dark eyes. "Yes, my real eye color."

"Their very pretty." he admitted.

"Thank you," She paused. "My mother always said it meant I had too much water element in me." If it did, perhaps Kaoru wouldn't mind the rain so much. " Your eyes are pretty too." She blurted.

His purple eyes went wide for a moment and he smiled, a soft tint of blush showing on his cheeks. "Thank you. I guess were two very unique people."

"Well as long as your not a stalker then I'm fine."

"Does it matter?"

Kaoru yanked her head around to face him. "Of course it matters. Where you live, what kind of car your drive. There are crazy people out there who love that sort of information." Crazy, stalker type people. Didn't this guy watch the news?

"Only four things really mater." The red-head held up four fingers. "Laughter, kindness, appreciation of beauty…and a really great beef hot pot."

The cabbie laughed .

"Not love?" Kaoru asked, leaning closer. She felt an overwhelming wave of emotion pass over her just then, even though she was trying to be sarcastic. She hadn't had much luck in the love department and it hurt her heart to think about the boyfriend that just broke up with her. It still hurt so much that she couldn't even think his name.

"Sometimes it matters." the man said, his face was still bright and he still had his smile but his eyes had shuttered over. As if to hide something. "But not as much as I thought." He reached out suddenly and Kaoru didn't even have time to react to his movement. His thumb brushed gently across her cheek. "Just rain, I thought it was a tear." he said and sat back again, watching her.

Kaoru turned her head back out the window, too shy to say that it was a tear. Her cheek tingled from where he had touched her. She hugged herself again to keep her hands from trying to rub at that feeling. A minute passed in silence, then another, and another. By then the rain had lightened up, almost to a stop and the cab was starting to slow as it pulled into the parking lot of a large apartment complex. It rose up several stories. And just by the look of the landscaping outside, Kaoru could tell that this was for those with money. She was well off as a business woman, but not this well off. What did this man do for a living?

"Here you go." The cabbie said. And Kaoru started to undo the buttons of the jacket.

"No." The red-head rested a hand over her hands to stop her. His touch was like a jolt of heat that traveled up her arms and into her chest. "No keep it."

"I'll get it cleaned and I'll send it back to you." Kaoru said automatically.

"Or you could come up?" He said in a hopeful tone. "My housekeeper always leaves a pot of vegetable soup on the stove for me."

Again Kaoru felt her mouth fall open and she shook her head. "No, no I couldn't" She didn't even know him. Why in the world would she go up to his apartment? Was he a weirdo?

"Warm vegetable soup….with a dash of curry." he added. Smiling softly to urge her.

Kaoru opened her mouth to refuse but the words just wouldn't come out. She watched as he handed the cab driver some money and turn back around for her answer. "I…I ca-…."She sighed. "Okay, just a cup."

"A cup of hot soup, coming right up." he said and he got out of the cab and walked around to let her out.

Kaoru had a few precious seconds to think it over. What was she doing? She had no idea what made her agree to go with him. Was it those beautiful lavender eyes, the crimson hair that hung down his back? Was the smoke from the cabbie's cigarette really smoke from some sort of drug? The door popped open and he held his hand out to her. Kaoru took up her portfolio and her soggy blouse and took his hand. He punched a few numbers into the keypad by the set of double glass doors and they popped open. He led her into the lobby, the air conditioning chilled her wet skin and she shivered violently as they walked past the front desk, he tapped the shoulder of the overnight guard that was sleeping there. A older gentleman with salt and pepper hair.

The guard jolted awake and glanced at the red-head with a smile, nodding his head in thanks. Kaoru was led to an elevator and once inside he punched the button for the top floor. Kaoru twisted the fabric of her wet blouse in her hands. This was nuts! Stupid and irresponsible. What was she doing? After her last love had left her, she had thrown herself into her work, mind and spirit and she liked it that way. There was no way she could get hurt, she was cautious now. It was safer that way, lonely yes but safe. And suddenly Kaoru had her answer. She was tired of playing it safe. She was tired of the same routine she had for months. For once she wanted to do something crazy. Something the normal Kaoru would never do.

She stole a sideways glance at the red-head man just as the elevators doors opened with a gentle woosh. There were only four apartments on the top floor and he lead Kaoru to the door on the right of the elevator. He smiled at her as he unlocked the door and held it open for her. Kaoru stepped in and was wide eyed as she took in the sight of the apartment the den, dinning room and kitchen were in the same room It was so large Kaoru was sure he whole apartment room would fit into this great room. It was a lovely mix of modern and traditional.

"Let me take that." He said, tugging her leather portfolio from under her arm and her soggy blouse from her hands. "Take a seat." he said, nodding to the stools that lined a dark wood bar along the kitchen. "I'll warm up that soup I promised.

Kaoru gave a shaky smile as she perched herself on the padded stool and swiveled around to look into the kitchen. It was a lovely kitchen with dark wood cabinets and stainless steel appliances. A rack with a dozen different sets of wine and champagne glasses hung from above and the warm lights from the kitchen made the crystal sparkle. "This is nice." Kaoru commented as the man ladled soup from the pot on the stove into two bowls. "Did you design the place yourself? Did you decorate it?" she touched a lovely potted palm plant that sat on the floor beside the stools.

"No." He said simply as he popped the bowls in the microwave.

"Well you must be some sort of designer, or painter or artist. You have a good eye."

"Nope." He said a gain with a smile. "I hope you like white radishes. My house keeper grows then in her garden and she always puts heaps of them in the soup."

"Sooo, you're not going to tell me what it is that you do? Even if I already guessed it." Her lips pressed together, stubborn enough to press the subject.

"That's right." Seemed he was stubborn too. "It doesn't matter."

"Right because all that matters is a really good beef hot pot.."

"Right." He said, pulling a pair of spoons from a drawer, grabbing a set of wine glasses from the rack and a green tinted bottle of wine. He walked over to set them on a glass table in the dinning room.

Kaoru had never really been much for alcohol before and she most certainly never had wine. She didn't know if it was a good idea to try some now. But then she remembered that she was trying to be the different fearless, reckless Kaoru. But just then the phone rang. A digital trill filled the silence and then an instantly later there was a beep as the answering machine kicked on and a sultry, female voice spoke.

"Hey…where are you? It's been ages. We should get together some time…call me."

Kaoru was feeling reckless but she wasn't about to intrude on someone's relationship. She sat up from the stool and got to her feet.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.. I should go."

"Why?" The red-head asked, hardly looking up as he set the table. The ringing phone nor the voice of the female on the line had failed to drag his attention away from setting the table.

Kaoru ignored the question. "I'll call you sometime."

This time he did look up and he walked towards her. "What for?" he said with a tip of his head.

"Well isn't that what people do…go to dinner, see a movie." Kaoru took a step back as he got close enough to reach out and touch her. Just then the microwave timer beeped and he looked away to the kitchen and then back to her.

"Well we have dinner. I have movies if you want to watch one, that I do." he took a step closer.

Kaoru forced a smile. "That's not what I mean."

"Say what you mean then."

Kaoru opened her mouth but couldn't think of the words she wanted to say. So she just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I shouldn't be here." She said with a sigh. "I don't even know what I'm doing here."

"Well, you're here because your cold, and hungry." He took another step forward and Kaoru had no where else to go, her back was pressed against a wide pillar in the den. "And because your wearing my jacket." he said in a lower tone.

Kaoru could see as his hands reached out and try as she might, Kaoru could not make herself tell him to keep his hands to himself. He took the edge of the jacket and undid all the buttons before trailing his fingertips along her flat belly. Her whole body jumped as if electricity was running through her.

"You know. I bet all the people at your job must think you have a great love life, that I do." he said as he pulled the jacket open to reveal her pale skin and the innocent white of her bra.

"Excuse me?" she squeaked. Her face burned with blush.

"No, don't get me wrong. I know nothing about your love life. But your far too jumpy" he trailed his finger across the swell of one breast to trace the white lace of her bra. "And you seems so innocent., that you do. I bet no one at your job ever sees the sadness in those blue eyes…or the fear" he leaned in and Kaoru knew he was about to kiss her.

"What do you think I'm afraid of?" She said in a hoarse whisper, and then cursed her voice for betraying her emotions. Her body was a raging mix of signals. She was lonely, she was afraid, she did want him to kiss her yet she didn't want him to.

"Of living." He finished and let his lips hover just a breath away from hers. He waited just a moment to see if she would refuse him, but when Kaoru said nothing he pressed his lips to hers.

Kaoru kept still, like a statue and waited to see what he would do. When he kept still, Kaoru realized he was waiting for her to make the next move. Would she wrap her arms around him or would she push him away. The fluttering of butterflies in her stomach made her weak. But she couldn't back away no matter what her mind was screaming at her. Kaoru let the jacket slide off her arms to land at her feet as she wrapped her arms around him. She wasn't afraid of living. She was afraid of not living, of being dead inside.

* * *

A/n So Kaoru's taking a lot of risks with this stranger-type man here. I do have more, maybe two or three chapters in mind. I really don't know where this story will go and I almost never post a story I don't already have fully thought out. This is kind of a test for me. So please let me know what you think so far and I'll continue this drabble.


	2. Chapter 2

A/n Hi everyone. Wow I'm surprised at the positive reviews I got. I never posted a drabble before. (Maybe I should more often, eh?) Normally I never would post a story that I didn't know the ending to. I must confess that I have no idea where this story is going and I'm working off the little hints you are giving me in the reviews. So thank you for those. Obviously this isn't my best work, but because it's a drabble and I was challenged to post it, I'm allowing myself to not care and just let myself write.

My other stories, Spoils of war and Endure my Love are still being worked on. I did lose spoils when my computer died so it will be a while. Okay enough of my chatting. On to the drabble.

Disclaimer, I don't own Kenshin.

"You did what?"

"I slept with him." Kaoru said as she shuffled through some papers on her desk, trying not to look her best friend in the face. She wasn't sure if retelling her adventures with the stranger had been a good idea, but Kaoru knew she wouldn't be able to keep the secret to herself.

"You went through all that, went to his place and then slept with him?" Misao demanded. "What were you thinking?"

Kaoru was glad she closed her office door before retelling the story to Misao. For her best friend had little volume control. "I wasn't thinking much." She admitted, tossing the stack of papers into a wire paper holder on her desk. "I just didn't want to care for a while."

Misao reached across the desk and caught Kaoru by the hand. "Did you use protection? I swear I'll slap you upside the head right now if you didn't."

"Yes, yes. He wore protection. I asked for it before he even had a chance to get all the way undressed." her eyes gazed off as she remembered. How could a man look so confident putting on a condom? He was confident in everything, wasn't he?

"Good." Misao dropped her hand. "At least your not that stupid." She pulled out a pad of paper from her pants pocket and flipped it open. "What's his name? I'll get him checked out for you…make sure he's not some psycho…or married with five kids."

Kaoru smiled sheepishly. "I don't know his name." Her memory flashed back to that night.

… . . …

The soup was delicious, Kaoru had to admit that. She had to reheat it but once she was somewhat dressed and was able to get a taste, she had to agree with the stranger…his housekeeper made great soup. She smiled softly as the red-headed man sat beside her. He watched her eat as if it was the most fascinating thing. He wore no shirt, only his pants, they were zipped, but not buttoned.

"I want to see you again." His voice rumbled with the lust they had shared hardly a half hour ago. He reached out with his hand and gave her tousled hair a stroke.

"I…I don't know." Kaoru answered softly . She had just came from a terrible break-up. Though it had been a while ago, Kaoru didn't want to get herself involved with a man just yet. But he seemed to have read her thoughts.

"No strings attached, no feelings…You don't need to know my name and I don't need to know your's. We'll stay strangers…just like we are right now. I just have to see you again. "

… . . …

"And you agreed to that?!" Misao jumped from her chair. "I can't believe you Kaoru. That's not you at all."

"I know…it's exciting." Kaoru couldn't help but smile. Afterwards, he called a car service for me and had them fix my tire before calling me a cab to get back to my car. It was nice of him.

"That was nice of him. He could have done that instead of taking you to his place. What you did was stupid, Kaoru." The smaller woman paced in the small office. "You can't possible stay strangers with this guy for long."

"We'll try. We only get together on Tuesday's and Thursday's."

Misao pulled a face. "Ugh, that's disgusting Kaoru. You're acting like his call girl or something. Soon he'll pay you, like a high dollar whore."

"Misao!" Kaoru shrieked in shock.

"Sorry, sorry." Misao waved her words away. "I'm just worried for you. I know all the stress you went through with your last boyfriend and then there's your brother your stressing about, I just think you're starting to crack. I don't want to hear about you ten months later dead from a meth overdose, your body in some alleyway. Or selling your body for money so you can get your next fix even though your pregnant and homeless."

"Misao, we're two responsible, consenting adults…this isn't going to lead to me being some sort of drug-head."

"I know…I just watch too many of those cop shows, you know. I don't want anything bad to happen to you. This is the start down the slippery slope." Misao took a breath and calmed down. This was just something Kaoru was going through right now and she was sure she would come to her right mind in a week or two once she vented her stress on this man. "So, speaking of your brother…any word yet?"

Kaoru accepted Misao's change of subject but wished she had picked a different topic. "No, nothing yet. The police is still keeping an eye out." Yahiko, Kaoru's teenage brother had ran away a month ago and had been missing ever since. Kaoru's mother and father and the whole community of small town they lived in had banded together those first few days he was missing. It wasn't until Yahiko had called to let them know he was fine that he was classified a runaway and all the searches were called off. He was going to be in some major trouble when he got back. But that didn't stop her parents from begging him to return. Who knew what terrible things her brother was getting into out on his own.

Kaoru was hundreds of miles away in the city and was powerless to really do anything. Her brother had yet to call her, so she couldn't try and convince him to go back home or to at least stay with her. Kaoru worried for him. He was a smart boy and it wasn't like him to do such a thing.

Just like it wasn't her to repeatedly sleep with a stranger.

"So what's he like? This man?" Misao asked as she wandered to the side of the office where some of Kaoru's designs hung on racks. "Was he that good that your willing to go back for more?"

"Misao!" Kaoru sighed as she yanked a drawing from the stack of papers and pulled a wooden case of colored pencils from her desk to finish the doodle. "It's about more than the sex…I mean…he made me feel…I don't know, alive." She attacked her drawing with a sea green colored pencil.

Misao looked over her should at Kaoru and raised a eyebrow. "But the sex was good?"

"It was great." Kaoru blurted, her head hitting her desk. "Like nothing I thought possible." She said, her face still against the cold wood of her desk. She closed her eyes for a moment and recalled the memory. He was skilled, obviously he had done this many times before. While Kaoru was clumsy from her lack of partners, the stranger gently yet confidently brought her to the peek of a pleasure she had never known.

"Mmm..I'm sure." Misao turned back to face her best friend. "But I know you Kaoru. We've been friends a long time. You won't be able to keep this man at arm's length. He can't stay an object of a good time forever."

"I don't plan on doing this forever." Kaoru stated, lifting her head from her desk. "Only until I feel better…no longer." Though she didn't like the idea of using someone. The only peace of mind she got was that he was using her in the same way and if they were obviously both agreeing to use and be used…then it was okay…right?

… . . …

Standing in the elevator, Kaoru fidgeted with the silk obi around her middle. It was Tuesday night…her night. For her fantasy, she went with a traditional style Kimono. The silk was painted with beautiful cranes. Her long ebony hair was pulled back and tied with a ribbon. She glanced down at the wooden sandals at her feet as the conversation with Misao echoed in her mind. She had to be careful, this guy might be crazy and she may just be another notch on his belt. But Kaoru knew he had no feelings for her whatsoever just as she had none for him and so she was okay with that. Let him notch his belt as much as he wanted. The elevator dinged and whooshed open, jolting Kaoru out of her thoughts and she stepped out and hurried over to the stranger's apartment. She knocked and waited.

A moment past before the door swung open and there he stood. In cream Hakama pants and a deep blue gi, he cut a fine figure. His blood-red hair was tied in a top knot, letting the rest of it drape down his back. There was a real katana sword at his hip and Kaoru couldn't help but stare while she was let inside. The stranger it seemed couldn't help but watch her as well. His eyes never left her, even as he shut and locked the door.

"You look wonderful." He said.

Looking him up and down, with his gi slightly parted to give her a peek of his chest, she had to agree that he looked wonderful as well. "So do you." Suddenly feeling bold, she reached out and grabbed the sword on his hip, hilt and all and pulled him slightly closer. "You even know how to use this thing?"

He smiled, resting his hand on the sword. "Actually, I know how to use it very well."

Kaoru arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I've been trained in the art of swordsmanship from the time I was a boy. I had a mentor and everything, that I did." He paused in thought. "My mentor was never pleased, no matter how hard I tried. I use to think he was a stubborn old fool, but now I know that he was just trying to make me push myself harder than I ever would if he praised me."

A memory flashed in Kaoru's mind. A few very old but strange looking scars that crossed many parts of his lean body. Most on his chest, some on his back, a few on his arms and legs. She hadn't thought much of them until now. But it was hard to keep thinking about it as the red-head was threading his fingers through her hair. "Is that giving me too much information about yourself?" she said as she closed her eyes to his touch.

The stranger smiled and pressed closer, the sword hilt gently poking her side. "Yes it is actually. I shouldn't have told you those little details."

Kaoru shrugged. "It didn't hurt much."

"Yes but remember, what are the four things that matter?"

"Yes I know….happiness and so on…and a really good beef hot pot." Kaoru recited.

"Good." He smiled then and stepped close enough to press his body against her. He placed kisses on her neck as he reached around and carefully untied the silk obi. Kaoru tipped her head slightly as his kisses trailed lower and soon she felt the yards of fabric that was the obi fall away. She shivered slightly as she felt the heat of his hands as they dived into the kimono to caress the light undergarment she wore beneath. "You're wearing far too many clothes, that you are." He said with a smirk before claiming her mouth with his.

… . . …

Kaoru blinked lazily over at the red-head. He was sprawled on his bed beside her, gazing up at the ceiling and looking quite content. Her body was deliciously sore from his attentions and she carefully turned on her side to face him. "You told me something personal about yourself…would you like it if I said something about myself?" She asked carefully, hoping for some strange reason that he wouldn't reject her. She suddenly knew that she would be hurt if he rejected her, and that was dangerous territory.

He slid his gaze over at her before tuning his head completely. "I would like that, but not too personal."

"How will I know it's too personal?"

"Well, tell me about it, and I'll let you know, that I will."

"Alright." Kaoru took a deep breath. "My little brother ran away from home last month." She paused, waiting to see if he would stop her.

"Go on." He urged.

"He just turned sixteen a few months ago. He's a relatively good kid. He did good in school, had nice friends, was very active in martial arts classes. But then one day he started getting a little bit of a attitude toward the family, nothing much, you know," Kaoru turned to him, "teenager stuff." He nodded in understanding and Kaoru went on. "He spoke to me about it, we were pretty close and was upset when I moved out here for my job. He said he missed having me around and how our parents were always ragging on him now because he was the only one there and he was the son and so on."

"A few weeks later I got a call from my mother telling me that he was missing. We searched and as the days went by we all feared the worst. But my father got a call from him saying that he wasn't lost or kidnapped or anything, that he was safe and perfectly fine but was never coming home."

At this the stranger raised an eyebrow and Kaoru nodded. "I know it's strange for a boy who was just fine with his life with only little things to gripe about to do such a thing. But I think there was more going on. My father it seemed was putting a lot of pressure on him. He fought with my brother over the phone, demanding that he come home."

"And I'm sure that did nothing to help." The red-head stated.

"Nothing at all. We haven't heard from him after that argument. I'm worried, but I need to be strong. I was able to let him know he can come to me for help…that I'm not going to judge him."

He turned his body slightly, purple eyes reading into her very soul. "It's hard for you to stay neutral."

"Yes." Kaoru breathed, looking away from those eyes. It was creepy the way he was able to read her like that.

"You want to chastise your brother for putting himself in danger and for causing so much worry. But then you know that will only push him away." He reached out from under the cool sheet that covered them and took her hand. "You must have strength and patience. He will come around, that he will. I was a teen boy once myself. I caused hell."

Kaoru couldn't help but laugh even though her mind was on the heat of his large hand covering hers and how nice and comforting it felt. "That isn't very hard for me to believe."

"Would you allow me to change the subject?" He asked.

Kaoru was sure he was getting uncomfortable talking about something so personal. But she felt so much better getting it off her chest and she was glad that he gave her the chance. "Sure." she said simply.

"I want to take you out."

Kaoru blinked back at those purple eyes. "Like a date?" What about those ground rules they made before agreeing to keep seeing each other?

"Sort of. I just want to take you out. We can go to a place where no one will recognize us, that we can." he said. In a city as large as theirs it wouldn't be too hard for them to travel a few minutes away where they would be just another face in the crowd. And there would be very little risk of running into anyone who might know them.

Kaoru couldn't help the little flutter her heart gave a moment before she squashed the feeling. He wasn't asking her out on a date or anything, he's feelings hadn't changed just because they shared a little bit of their personal lives. He probable just wanted to act out another part of his strange fantasies. "That's sounds fun." She said carefully. "Where do you want to meet?"

The stranger shook his head. "Meet me here, I'll have an outfit ready for you to wear." he gave her a sheepish smile. "I don't think you would have something appropriate for the place I have in mind to take you."

"Oh, really." Kaoru tipped her chin up a notch. "Where are you taking me?"

"Just meet me here on Thursday. The sooner you can the better...four or five in the afternoon?"

"Alright, now you have me curious." And a little worried but Kaoru would give anything to forget. To leave the life of her job and her family behind for just a few hours. To do something she would never normally do…to escape.

A/n ooo the stranger is up to something here. I'm not sure what just yet, so it looks like both you and me are going to have to wait to find out …egads. Reviews are loved…thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

a/n Wow it's been a long time coming. All I can say is I'm sorry for the long wait. I've been writing, and found myself sitting this aside. I got a review from a reader today that brought me back to this story and I typed it up in the last few hours before I would forget and set it aside for another few months. Hopefully it won't take as long for the next update. It just goes to show what the power of a random review will do. Hehe

thank you to all my loyal reviewers who stick with me even with my long stretches of not updating.

* * *

Kaoru carefully pinned together a sample of fabrics together to create the rough design of curtains that was drawn on paper and taped to the white board in front of her. Misao was carefully cutting more fabric on the table behind her.

"You're not going to go are you?" Misao asked once she finished the last cut.

"Of course I'm going to go." Kaoru mumbled around a mouthful of pins between her lips. She pulled one free of her mouth and pined the newly cut square Misao handed to her to the length of curtain to create a strange, erratic checkerboard design.

Misao sighed, resting her head in one hand. "I don't know about you anymore."

"Is this another step down that slippery slope you talked about?"

"Yes. Now he's giving you something to wear because he's so sure you won't have the correct items for whatever weird-slash-fancy place he plans on taking you." She stood from her chair to stand next to Kaoru as she removed the rest of the pins from between her lips. "If he gives you jewelry you're in trouble. Don't accept it."

Kaoru laughed as she set the pins away and shook out the curtain. "Why not?"

"Because that's what they all do. They woe the girl with some crazy bit of jewelry and the girl just falls into his bed, willing to do whatever he wants her to."

"Misao I'm, already in his bed, remember?"

"So maybe he'll expect more from you!" Misao shouted.

Kaoru winced. "Gezz Misao."

Her friend ignored her. "Maybe he's taking you to some kinky place, the kind where you go in through a door in the alley…maybe he wants you to sleep with him and some other girl he's gonna pick up…maybe another man."

"Misao!" She felt the heat of blush crawling up her face as she covered her cheeks with her hands. The ideas Kaoru had come up with on her own were bad enough, but Misao's suspicions were on a whole new level.

"Well…I'm just trying to help you out." Misao held her hands out helplessly.

"I know, Just...stop, okay?" Kaoru said, and then sighed. "I understand that you're worried, I'm worried too. But I promise that if it's anything I can't handle then I'll just call a cab and come back home and never see him again." She glanced at Misao, who was giving her a doubtful look.

"I don't know why you even risk it." Misao muttered, looking back at her work.

"I told you, it's a change, an...an escape from," she waved her hand at the piles of fabric, "all of this. Were for a few long moments I don't have to worry about work, or family."

Misao closed her eyes, her hands frozen in the middle of nervously twisting a swatch of fabric. "I can understand that." She turned back to Kaoru. "Okay, I don't like it, but okay. Just, call me the moment you leave and the moment you get back alright. So At least I know you're okay."

"Deal." Kaoru said with a soft smile.

"Right then, let's get this done before we get both our asses chewed."

… . . …

Kaoru stood outside the apartment building. Her cab was slowly pulling away as she lifted her eyes to take in the many windows of the building. It seemed much different in the light of the mid-afternoon. More normal, less mysterious. She had called Misao just as she promised, she was fine then, and she was fine on the ride over. And yet, standing there, she suddenly got cold feet. Where _was_ he going to take her? And what would he give her to wear? With a deep breath, Kaoru squared her shoulders and marched in. She had memorized the security numbers her red-headed stranger had given her and she was quick to punch them in and slip into the building before she could change her mind. She nodded to the older man at the security desk, and jumped quickly into the elevator. Once the contraption lurched upward, Kaoru gave herself one last chance to think about it.

She should be home…on the phone with her parents, or perhaps out looking for Yahiko. But to what end. She spent countless hours looking for him already, and she talked with her family until even she couldn't take it anymore. Her brother could be anywhere in the city, he might not even be in the city at all. He wouldn't want her to worry about him so, but then she couldn't help it.

The doors popped open with a soft "ding" and Kaoru automatically stepped out into the silent hallway. The worry over her brother combined with her nervousness made her stomach do strange flops and suddenly Kaoru thought for sure she was about to be sick. She forced herself to think about her stranger's red hair, his large, purple eyes and that smile of his. She trusted him and he had not betrayed her so far, he was a vent for all her worry and stress, an outlet. And she was sure she was the same for him. Her feet were moving on their own and she was already at his door before her thoughts snapped back to the here and now.

The door opened and the sight of that smile chased all her fears away. He leaned slightly on the doorframe.

"Right on time, that you are." He stepped back and Kaoru slip inside.

"I have to admit I'm curious as to where we're going. It's driving me insane" she said with a soft smile. Her eye swept up his body. He was in a casual suit, dressy, yet trendy. He didn't look like a salary-man , his suit was dark with a dark navy jacket that fit snug over a white button-down shirt, no tie. His hair was pulled tightly at the back of his head with a black cord, but it was allowed to hang lose and free down his back. "Wow, I…suddenly feel underdressed." She confessed, looking down at her simple blouse and jeans. Was he taking her someplace fancy?

"That's fine, I told you not to get dressed. I have something here for you, that I do. He walked across the apartment building and popped open his bedroom door. "I have it sitting out on the bed. And I have shoes ready for you too."

Kaoru smiled and moved to slip past him, but he held his arm across the doorway and caught her around the middle before she could go in. She turned to ask him what he wanted but before she could even get the words out, his lips were resting over hers. Kaoru sighed into the kiss as her eyes slid shut. But that was the moment he pulled way with a grin.

"Don't you get me started." He accused playfully as he gave her a gentle push into the room. He was chuckling to himself as he shut the door.

"You started it!" She called though the door. He answered with more laughter. Smiling Kaoru turned to the bed and froze. Laying across it was a blue strappy dress glittering in the afternoon light streaming in from the window. Kaoru was afraid to step any closer, but she also couldn't take her eyes off of it. It was a dark sapphire blue that glittered with the brightness of hundreds of tiny jewels. Stepping closer to the bed they shared, Kaoru reached out and ran her hand across the delicate looking pattern. The pattern was made with hundreds, if not thousands of tiny seed beads all the color of dark sapphires. The rest of the dress was made of a shiny; metallic blue material that Kaoru was certain was silk, maybe satin. She ran her fingertips across the cool fabric. It was silk.

'_Classy.'_ Thought Kaoru as she quickly stripped down. She blushed slightly as she saw the tiny bra and panties that matched the color of the dress. The bra was strapless, a good thing because the straps of the dress were too thin to hide a bra. There were even sheer pantyhose and a tiny blue clutch for her to use as a purse. This man had thought of everything.

… . . …

The red-head stood with a shoebox in his hands, His eyes swept her up and down a few times with a glazed look about his face. Kaoru knew she was blushing several shades of red as she kept her hands clasped modestly in front of her. The dress reached mid-calf, was nearly backless and the neckline plunged enough for Kaoru to wonder when she had grown such nice looking breasts.

"You look wonderful, that you do." The stranger finally said. "I'm glad to see that I got your size right."

Kaoru gave a nervous little laugh. "No room for error in this." One hand drifted over the beaded design that swirled across her middle.

"No, that there isn't." He agreed, stepping up to her he took one hand and offered the box with the other. "These are for you."

She sat on the sofa behind her and she opened to box to find bark blue heels. She was relieved to see that they were not very tall, but still higher than most of her shoes.

"I like what you did with your hair." He said, His fingers wrapping around the bouncy curls that tickled her neck. The rest of her hair was wrapped in a bun at the top of her head, allowing for the curls to drape down.

"Thank you." Kaoru said softly as she slipped the heels on. They stood and the stranger pulled a small flat black box from behind his back.

"I borrowed this from a friend for you to wear tonight." He said, lifting the lid. Kaoru didn't dare glance inside, but she had to. There, on a lining of black velvet, sat the most diamonds she had ever seen. Dozens of tiny diamonds studded the silver at the neck, larger diamond were set in the shape of flowers until they surrounded the very center, which was a flower made up of five petals and each petal was made from a sapphire twice the size of her thumbnail. The center of the flower was a large coin sized diamond. The whole necklace glittered and sparkled rainbows up at her and Kaoru could do or say nothing but stand there was her mouth in a surprised O shape.

"I hope you like it…Most women like sparkly things." He said with a shrug. But his grin told her he knew she was speechless. Without a word he took the creation from the box and stepped behind her. The gems were cold on her skin, and heavy but Kaoru could only imagine what she looked wearing it with her plunging neckline. "There." He said, turning her around so he could see how it looked. "It's much better on when you're wearing it than when it's in the box, trust me." He said with a wink.

As they were leaving, Kaoru could help but set her hand across the stones at her throat. Wasn't this something Misao had warned her about? Something about not accepting an amazing piece of jewelry? But he said he borrowed it and it was not for her to keep, so he didn't expect he to repay him…so she didn't have anything to worry about…right?

… . . …

It was a club, Kaoru realized as she gazed about. Her arm was wrapped around her red-headed strangers as he led her about. It was a nice place, soft music, a dining area and a drinking area. There was even a dance floor beside the stage where seven musicians were playing the soft music. The floor was of highly polished stone, the lights overhead dripped with crystals, the wood was rich and dark and everything was polished to a mirror shine.

"This is a nice place." Kaoru commented as she watched ladies in their own fabulous dresses walk about with their well dressed counterparts.

"Very nice." He agreed as he took her by the waist to give her the slightest of boosts up into a backed bar stool. The bar was large and well lit, made of dark wood and the various s bottles of liquor lined the low shelves in the back. "What would you like to drink?" He asked as he signaled to one of the bartenders. A young man with slick back hair and a white shirt and black bow tie walked towards them .

"Oh," Kaoru shrugged with a sheepish smile. "I haven't had many drinks, um…you pick for me?"

He nodded with a gentle smile and turned to the young man as he stopped in front of them. "I'll take a double martini, dirty." He glanced back at Kaoru for a second. "…and…she'll have a purple rain."

"Very good Sir." The man said with a bow of his head and he turned to get working on the drinks.

The stranger patted Kaoru on the shoulder. "I'm going to see about getting a table; you stay here and enjoy your drink." He turned, but paused and turned back. "Sip it, please." He said with a smile before walking off and vanishing around a group.

Almost at once a body slipped into the seat next to Kaoru and she glanced to her left to see a very tall man with narrow eyes looking down at her. "Hello." She offered, quickly turning her gaze to the working bartender.

"So you must be his new one?" he said, his voice even and smooth.

But Kaoru's heart jumped and raced though she tried to appear calm, as if strangers talked to her all the time. "I beg your pardon?" She asked.

Her jerked his head in the direction her stranger had wandered off in. "Him, you're his new girl now?"

"Do you know him?" She asked. His new girl now?

"Not really." He answered with a shake of his head. "Only I've seen him in here at least once, sometimes twice a month with a different girl each time. I was just wondering."

"Oh." Was all Kaoru could think to say as the bartender turned around to set two martini glasses on the bar before her. He gave her a smile before turning back to his other customers. One glass was clear, with ice, the other a royal purple. Kaoru assumed that one must be the purple rain he had ordered for her and, glad for the distraction, took up the glass and took a gulp.

It was a bad idea. He had warned her to sip it for a good reason. The liquor burned like really, really bad cough syrup and she coughed in mid swallow.

The man beside her smiled as she recovered herself. "Strong?"

"Very." She answered with a horse whisper. Her eyes were even watering, she carefully set the thin stemmed glass down on the bar.

"So you don't know his name I take it?" He pressed.

Kaoru shook her head, not trusting her voice yet.

He looked disappointed. "No one around here seems to know who he is. I figure he must be a host maybe, or a gigolo."

"Hardly." Kaoru said, blinking back the tears the burning in her throat was causing her. "Well, I don't know…we're just here as friends." She confessed. Who was this man? "Why are you asking such personal questions, I don't even know you." She snapped.

"Ah, well, you don't even know him, so I thought perhaps once you're done with him, I could take you around the block?"

Kaoru was taken aback; literally, she sat back with her jaw dropped. "I..I..." anger pumped but words wouldn't form. "I'm not something to be passed around, thank-you-very-much." She hissed.

He raised a delicate eyebrow. "You let him drive you around blind…do you know how many other women I've seen here with him? I can have relationships like that as well you know. He only seems interested in them for a few weeks before getting a new one. "The man leaned in closer, Kaoru could see the gleam of his well-oiled hair. "My attentions last much longer than his, trust me…And at least I'll let you know my name. I would love to hear you say it in bed when I taste you."

"She wouldn't want a mouth as foul as yours on her." Came a growl from behind.

Kaoru yanked her head around to see her red-headed stranger standing beside her. Her breath came out in a relieved sigh. Though, she was taken aback by the narrow and hard glare he was giving the much taller man.

"She's mine…take your poison where it belongs." He jerked his head to a large group of suspiciously identical looking women giggling on one side of the bar. An arm of iron wrapped around her and Kaoru suddenly found herself off the stool and pressed against her companion. The man only bowed his head with a smirk and moved off. Only then did her stranger let his arm drop from around her. "I leave you alone for hardly four minutes and you get yourself mixed up with that." He nearly spat as he dug out money to pay for the drinks. "I'm not mad at you, that I'm not." He added in a more gentle tone as he took up his glass and indicated that she do the same.

"Who was that?" She said in a soft whisper as she took her glass in one hand and wrapped her other arm around his as he led her off to the tables.

"I'm not sure, that I'm not." He glanced over at her. "I do know one thing about him though…He's a pimp. Those were his girls over there."

Kaoru's mouth fell open and she glanced back at him, even though he gave her arm a slight jerk to prevent her. "But…but he looked so nice. Not like what I thought a pimp would look like."

"He's high class, as are his girls. They're here for the men with enough money to afford them. What did he say to you?" Suddenly he came to a stop; Kaoru had to catch herself to keep from spilling her drink. He rounded on her, face set, eyes hard, swirling with color. "He didn't say anything to upset you?"

Kaoru's mouth was open but she could only shake her head. "N-No…you heard the most upsetting thing he said." She confessed. That seemed to calm him and he turned back and took her to a booth table in the corner.

"How do you like your drink?"

Kaoru offered an apologetic smile. "It's a bit strong."

The corner of his lips twitched upward. "Did you sip it?"

"I forgot…he distracted me." She said taking up the glass and taking a tiny sip. This time it didn't burn, but a pleasant warmth spread down her throat, leaving behind a aftertaste of some sort of fruit that she couldn't put her finger on.

"Careful…that's a hard drink and you're on an empty stomach." He warned with a grin. "And as much as I wonder what making love to you senselessly drunk might be like…" He paused as a watress came by with their menus and he left Kaoru in various states of blushing for the rest of the night.

… . . …

"So everything went fine." Kaoru said reassuringly as she kicked off her shoes.

"Still I would have liked it if you had called me as soon as you got home... not noon the next day." Misao said.

Kaoru laughed into the phone. "I did just get home." She could hear Misao chocking on the other side of the line.

"You were with him all night?"

Kaoru pulled the phone from her ear. "And most of this morning." She was grinning like a fool as she stretched out on her sofa and thought back to the night they had shared. His bought of possessiveness seemed to have carried over into the bedroom when he bought her home from the club. He was fierce in bed, painfully yet deliciously so.

"What did you talk about all night? Or did you talk at all?" Misao was in a scolding mood it seemed but Kaoru couldn't keep the smile from her face.

"Lots of things, yet nothing at all. Hey did you know that Lamb with brown sugar is the most delicious thing in the word?"

"Kaoru!"

"What?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?" Kaoru said, sitting up from her stretched out position.

"You're sounding like you're in love with him. Rambling on how you are. This is nothing remember… he's not jealous that the other man was talking about you, and if he was it was only because he wasn't going to get his piece of ass if you went with the other one."

"Mi-sao!" Kaoru chastised. "The other guy was a creep, a pimp out hunting for girls, he just didn't want me to get hut is all."

"You think he cares for you that much?"

Kaoru paused…caring wasn't in his deal, but it was obvious by the way he treated her that he cared. "Yes…yes I do."

"hmm." Was all her friend said before she went silent for a moment. "Well, be happy it's your day off,"

"I am."

"I'm going to let you go now so you can get some rest alright?"

"Right." Kaoru said with a yawn. They said their goodbyes and Kaoru tossed her phone on the side table before making her way to her room. Misao thought she was in love with her stranger. Kaoru couldn't help but smile. That was dangerous territory, and she refused to let herself cross that line.

She was halfway undressed when she heard her phone trilling. With a sigh, Kaoru slipped on her nightshirt before going back to her front room to retrieve her phone. The number on it made Kaoru pause in mid step and she flipped it open at once. "H-Hello?"

* * *

Uh-oh.. I smell trouble. This chapter was just a little bit of filler to pass time in the story and let Kaoru fall even more for her stranger man. I didn't much like it and spent so long trying to rewrite it that I gave up and let it become what it wanted. Next chapter should be much better. Next chapter! The strange phone call! Please review! Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

A/n Hi everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting. For those waiting for me to update Endure my Love. Don't worry. I'm working on it right now. I have a lot on my plate (writing wise) and Endure is tougher than I thought. But it will be updated soon. I also have a bunch of other stories I'm going to start posting here in the next we weeks. I just want to get enough chapters done ahead of time.

Anyways…sorry this chapter is a little short. And I'm not very happy with it. In truth I'm a bit frustrated with it and I struggled a lot and changed it over and over again. But I wanted to update a chapter for you guys and finally decided that I wouldn't be happy with it and I needed to post it before I had a meltdown over it. Hopefully the next chapter will prove less difficult.

Thank you for all the reviews everyone. They make the struggling worthwhile.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin.

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Kaoru sipped at her miso soup. It was delicious, hot with green onions and just the right amount of tofu. Sitting at the table alone, she had to admit that her stranger had a wonderful housekeeper who made wonderful food as well as keep the house as impeccable as a high end hotel room. Beside her on the table Kaoru spotted a pile of envelopes. Her stranger must have just picked up the mail or else the housekeeper would have put the papers away. It was out of the ordinary here in a house that hardly looked lived in. She sat, spoon in hand and looked at them…and looked at them. She wondered...

With a glance up at the empty main room, she could hear the shower turn off. Her red-headed stranger was otherwise preoccupied. She took a deep breath and set the spoon down and reached across the table and took up the envelope from the top.

"To Current Resident."

Kaoru frowned and set it down and reached across the table for another.

"To Current Resident."

With a little growl Kaoru stood and scooped up the mail and started looking from one envelope to another. Another, another…

"What are you doing?" Said a voice behind her.

Kaoru jumped and turned around just as her stranger reached out and plucked the pile of letters from her hands. He wore little more than a towel around his hips, his chest was bare and his hair hung dripping wet down his back. Kaoru opened her mouth, but no words would come out. She'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"My junk mail?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he tossed the envelopes back on the table. "What were you looking through my junk mail for?" He asked with a half laugh.

Kaoru opened her mouth, but it hung silent for moment. Her brain couldn't think up an excuse fast enough, and she was a terrible liar. "I was looking for your name." She admitted in a soft voice.

It seemed he already knew as much. "You broke the rules." Almost at once his eyes were hard, cold, narrow, his stance changed and the fact that he wore nothing but a damp towel hardly impaired him as he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her away from the table.

Her face was hot, red from embarrassment that quickly turned to anger. She yanked her hand from his grasp. "I wasn't doing anything bad."

"No?" His voice was raised and he grabbed for her hand again.

"I…I just want to know your name!" she yanked back her hand but he had a stronger grip now and wouldn't let her go.

"That's not in the rules."

"I don't care about the rules! This isn't a game!" Kaoru couldn't help but shout. He looked conflicted, but the anger remained.

"We can't get personal." He insisted. "That's what we agreed on, that we did."

Kaoru scoffed. "We're sleeping together…how personal is that!" she glared at him. His eyes were slits now, swirling with a strange amber that was slowly overtaking the beautiful purple. He showed no sign of wavering. "Don't you want to know my name?"

"No." His voice was hard, clipped. It stung Kaoru more than she expected. He dropped her hand and she took a step back.

"Fine." She snapped, turning, she scooped up her purse and turned on her heal. "Fine, I broke the rules, the game is over. I'm leaving." She stalked across the apartment. "I don't need this." She muttered and had just enough time to take two steps out the door before it was yanked open so hard that it slammed into the wall. Kaoru glanced over her shoulder in time to see her red-headed stranger walk out into the main hall, still in nothing but a towel. He made a grab for her.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked as he yanked her away from the elevator and pinned her against the wall with his body.

"No. I don't want you to go." He rasped suddenly, rushed, as he caught Kaoru in a kiss that made her legs weak even though they were just together hardly half an hour before.

She pulled all her self-restraint together and pushed him away. "What are you-" But he pulled her back to his apartment. "No, I'm leaving. I can't do this anymore." She couldn't live like this; it was fun at first, daring, different, something wild and not her character at all. But now, his words and suspicion had hurt her. And she knew this was a bad sign, she shouldn't hurt… she shouldn't care.

"Can't do what?" he asked once he had her in his apartment again, the door was closed and she found she couldn't look at him.

She turned away, gazing at the impersonalized items decorating the room. "This…be impersonal. I wanna know who you are, what you do." She lifted one hand in a helpless gesture as she struggled to keep the tears from her eyes.

He was watching her very closely; she could feel the heat of his eyes on her even as she paced slowly about the room.

"What's changed?" he crossed his arms. "What's the matter?"

"Why does it matter?" she shot a look at him. "Why do you want to know, it's personal, and you don't like personal."

"Give a little…get a little." He said with a shrug before reaching out and catching her as she paced in front of him. "Tell me what's wrong, "the amber was draining from his eyes. "You were just fine with this an hour ago…what's changed?"

Kaoru opened her mouth but could do nothing but shake her head.

"You've been distracted today, that you have." He walked her over to the sofa and he sat, dragging her down to sit beside him. He turned his body; facing her he tried to catch her eyes. "You want me to tell you something about myself; you have to tell me something about you."

Kaoru gave a great sigh and suddenly her shoulders sagged. "I got a call, from my brother."

His interested spiked. He leaned in, took her hands. "Is he alright?"

Kaoru nodded to give herself time to calm herself. She could feel her hands trembling in his solid grip. "He's not coming home. But might come to see me soon." She glanced at him. "He sounded tired. I wanted him to come see me now. At least I would know he was safe and I could make sure he was eating good and sleeping enough."

He lifted a hand to stem her flow of words. "Don't coddle him. Let him come of his own accord and stay as long or as short as he wishes. You don't want to smother him. That would only chase him away, that it will."

Her glance turned into a glare and he held up his hands.

"I'm just giving advice... I was a teenage boy once."

"I feel like I want to tie him up and stuff him someplace safe." She laughed, it was shaky and quiet. But it made him smile.

"I know." He reached out and ran his hand down her arm. "Forgive me for being mad with you."

Kaoru shrugged. "I'm not sorry I was mad at you. I'm still mad at you."

He nodded. "Fair enough."

"It's not like I found anything. Nothing had your name on it." She gave him an accusing glare.

"I'm careful." He gave her a smile and kissed her quickly on the forehead before getting back to his feet. Kaoru followed him as he made his way back into his bedroom.

"You got mad at me for looking at mail you knew didn't have any information on it?" Kaoru set her fists on her hips and looked away as he nonchalantly dropped the damp towel from his hips and wandered naked to his dresser. He pulled out clothes with hardly a look at them. She could see the angry red welts her nails had left in his back, during their time together. She bit down on her bottom lip as she watched his marvelous backside as he tugged his blue boxers on.

"It was the idea of your betrayal." He said simply as he continued dressing.

"Ouch." Kaoru dropped her hands from her hips and wandered over to the large window looking out over the city. The glittering lights in the darkness always took her breath away almost as much as her stranger. "Betrayal…that's a strong word for you to throw at a stranger." He was silent and she watched him from the reflection in the window. He had paused in the middle of shrugging on a shirt, his lean stomach was still exposed, and his jeans zipped but not buttoned. He still looked unbelievably amazing.

He turned and looked at her; she watched his reflection as he struggled for an answer. For once he was unsure. The man who was so in control and had all the answers seemed unsure. Kaoru felt the thrill of her tiny victory and yet the idea that he was not at all in control of everything frightened her.

He was slow in answering, picking his words carefully. "Betrayal is a strong word, that it is. But it was the only word that I felt justified my feelings at the moment. He stepped up to her, pressing his chest against her back as he wrapped his arms around her middle and rested his chin on her shoulder. "At that moment I felt the sting and anger of betrayal. Everyone it seems, ends in their betrayal."

Kaoru kept watching out the window. "Everyone? You mean…other's you've been with?" The idea was like a hot coal in the back of her mind. Her stranger knew he was now treading unstable ground. She could feel it in the way his body tensed.

"They too couldn't seem to live in ignorance. The relationship we had, no matter how wonderful and satisfying it was…was not enough. They wanted to know who I was, what family I had, what I did for a living. It was almost predictable. When I wouldn't give them any information, the partnership grew unstable. Eventually they would leave. Or I would end the relationship."

"So then why didn't you want me to leave?"

He struggled and was silent for a long time. "I just…didn't want you to go." Suddenly he dropped his arms and Kaoru turned to look at him. His eyes were glittering with an emotion Kaoru couldn't place…hurt? Confusion? Suspicion? She couldn't peg it. "You're so different from the others, and yet so predictably the same…that you are."

… . . …

"What the heck is that supposed to mean? 'so predictable the same.'?" Misao snapped as she took a bite from her plate. Her chopsticks where clenched so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were turning white. "He means you're no different than those other floozies he's seen."

"Harsh Misao…harsh." Kaoru returned as she picked at the food on her plate.

"Maybe he's starting to like you but doesn't want to admit it." Misao offered with a shrug. "Like, likes you more than all those others…instead of dropping you for breaking the rules, he's giving you another shot."

"Maybe…maybe he'll allow us to break the rules; maybe he'll get rid of the rules all together!" Kaoru smiled as she took a gulp of her tea.

"You would like that, wouldn't you? I knew you weren't into that whole stranger thing. You can't be a stranger with someone you've been sleeping with for weeks."

Kaoru thought. She would like it. "I do like him; it would be nice if we could have a relationship…a normal one."

Misao was chewing on strings of noodles from her bowl. "Would this guy even be half as interesting and desirable if you had a normal relationship?" she asked around her full mouth.

She was right to wonder, Kaoru herself had often wondered if she would like her stranger once he wasn't a stranger anymore. "I would like to say I would still be as interested…but I can't be sure." She admitted with a shrug. "In my mind I'm wondering who he is and what he does and creating this false story for him, one that I would find fascinating. Maybe life would be boring once I knew the truth. But he is handsome…and funny and kind…I think I would have liked him had I met him the old fashioned way. If it turns out that he does like me and want's to have a normal relationship then I don't think I would be worried." She looked at Misao with a smile.

The younger woman gave a shrug. "I don't want to rain on your special day Kaoru. But if he realizes that he's giving you the special treatment…he might just dump you to keep from deviating from his relationship with strangers, which it's obvious he values."

That deflated Kaoru's smile.

"Hey! I thought you said you didn't care if this ended." Misao snapped, jabbing in her direction with her chopsticks. "Remember a few weeks ago you said that because you were strangers it wouldn't hurt. Because you had no emotional attachment to him."

"It's still true." Kaoru protested. "If he wants to end it, then that's fine. It just means I'll have to go hunting around for someone else to have a secret love affair with." Kaoru laughed and Misao threw her napkin at her.

"I'm serious. I have a feeling that this is going to bum you out like any other relationship."

"No, you're right, i would be bummed." Kaoru agreed, calming down. "But it wouldn't be so bad…it's not like I'd be crushed."

"Good…cause I'd hate to see that." Was all her friend said before she went silent for a moment. "Well, be happy it's your day off,"

"I am."

… . . …

Kaoru rolled over in her bed and stretched. She reached over, knowing her stranger would not be there. She was in her home, not his, and it was the weekend, so she would have to wait two more days until Tuesday. Two long days before she could see him again. With a growl, Kaoru banished the dream of him from her mind and crawled out of bed and into the shower. With hot water beating down on her head, she found herself gazing though her wet curtain of hair at the water running past her feet and circling down the drain.

The water was like time…the time she was waiting to drain away until the next time she could be with her stranger.

And that was ridiculous. Kaoru took a deep breath and took her eyes from the flowing water. She couldn't sit around like she was, waiting for the two days of the week to come by. How many weeks had it been? It seemed as if she had been consumed, she had become a slave to the calendar. This man…she was becoming obsessed with him. But she couldn't allow this. This was not something that was going to last. He could call an end to it tomorrow for all she knew. There was no investment in this relationship…only her emotional investment. Kaoru gave a frustrated whimper and pressed her forehead to the cold tile of the shower wall. She wasn't supposed to get emotionally invested in this; it was his rule, her rule as well. She swore to Misao that she could care less about this; she only wanted a break from her life, a few hours in a fantasy.

But she knew she couldn't keep her heart out of this for much longer.

… . . …

Kaoru found refuge from her racing thoughts in her office. She flipped through books of fabric swatches, matching patterns and colors and themes. She couldn't stay at home; she had to keep her mind busy to prove to herself that her fiery haired stranger wouldn't take up her mind. On the up side she was getting a lot of work done, work that she had been putting off all week. She was also getting paid overtime for it. The downside was that she had to deal with Misao and her ever knowing looks. She knew Kaoru loved her days off and wouldn't be caught dead in her office on her day off. The fact that Misao was so startled and then suspicious when she found Kaoru in her office late that morning only confirmed to both Misao and Kaoru that Misao's worries about her inability to keep her feeling out of the relationship might be true.

Kaoru was getting far too involved with this farce of a relationship.

Thankfully Misao was wise and she kept quiet about it, but that didn't stop her from giving her looks every time she came in.

"I'm heading across the street to get a bento for lunch. You want anything?" Misao asked.

Kaoru looked up and glanced at the clock on her desk. It was well after lunch, already almost two. She was surprised to see how late in the day it was. She took the pins from her mouth and stuck them back in the pin cushion. "Sure, just grab me whatever you're going to get."

Misao smiled. "Sure thing."

Hardly two minutes had passed before her cell phone vibrated on her desk. Kaoru set the scrap of fabric she'd been working on on her lap and reached for the phone. She had turned the ringer off and had missed a call. She hardly had a chance to see who had called her before the phone on her desk trilled. Kaoru dropped her cell and reached for her desk phone. "Hello? Kaoru speaking."

"Kaoru? You're father tried to get a hold of you."

It was her aunt, and that was strange. Kaoru could hear some kind of commotion in the background and her aunt sounded upset.

"Is that mom?" Kaoru asked. "What's wrong?"

* * *

A/n The plot thickens! Kinda cliché but it accurately describes what's going on here. Our stranger seems to be stretching the rules for Kaoru. Kaoru is having feelings for her stranger, and she gets yet another strange phone call.

p.s. as many of you know, I'm working on a bunch of stories for R. Kenshin. I'm thinking about posting them soon. So those on my author alert list may start getting new story alerts from me soon.

Also, I have a new poll… please take 2 minutes and submit votes so I can better serve you, my readers.

Oh, and one more question. I have a bunch of little one-shot drabbles, mostly Kenshin/Kaoru romances…little fluffy stories…should I post these as their own story, or post all my one-shots in one story, each one-shot is in its own chapter? Kinda like a K/K grab bag of drabbles, pick a chapter and read a short story type of thing. Let me know in your reviews! I would like to start posting these little things.

Thanks for reading everyone! Reviews are loved!


	5. Chapter 5

A/n hi everyone. Sorry for such a long wait. I was busy working on my other stories and then I sort of misplaced this story hehe. But I found it again yeah for us. So I won't keep you waiting, I'm glad to see so many who like this story, even if it is a little diddy of a story. On to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kenshin

* * *

"Where did Kaoru go?" Misao asked coming out of her empty office. In the crook of her elbow hung the straps of the plastic shopping bag that contained their lunch.

Two other workers in nearby offices shrugged as they walked past.

"Man, I was only gone for maybe five minutes." Misao grumbled.

"I saw her just now, and you were gone for fifteen minutes Misao." Said their secretary.

"Well did she say where she was going Scama?" Misao rushed the man's desk.

He shook his head. "I saw her hurry out of here just after you left. She looked in a rush; she didn't even say where she was going, she didn't clock out or anything." He looked worried, which made Misao worry.

"Hang on." Misao dug out her cellphone and punched Kaoru's number. She set her phone to her ear just in time to hear a hard rattling from Kaoru's office. Both Misao and Scama took the few steps to the room and there they found Kaoru's cell on vibration and rattling on the hard wood of her desk. Misao flipped her phone closed and slipped it back in her pocket. "Kaoru hardly goes anywhere without her phone." Misao scooped up the cellphone and flipped it open to check Kaoru's call history. "She missed a call from someplace called "Home." I wonder if that's her parent's home. They called many times but she only answered the last call."

… . . …

Kaoru found herself moving though she had no idea where. Her mind was a blank, her head hurt, her eyes dry and stinging. She realized she was in a cab but she had no idea where she had told the driver to take her. She was not surprised to find herself standing on the sidewalk looking up at the same apartment complex she left a few days ago.

Night had fallen. Had it really been that many hours already? What had she done before getting a cab? All she could remember was running. What time was it anyways? All she knew was that it was dark. With stumbling steps she walked to the door and tapped the correct buttons with heavy jabs of her finger. Once inside she ignored the startled look of the security guard and placed herself in the elevator and hit the button to his floor. What would he say to her showing up at his door...who knows how late it was... and it wasn't one of the days he had agreed to meet with her. What if he was with another woman right now?

The thought made her shattered heart burn anew and fresh hot tears filled her eyes. Kami, what was she supposed to do? She couldn't go to Misao, she just couldn't. And she couldn't bear the thought of being with her family. Not yet.

He was the first person she thought about...he was who she wanted to be with. She glanced down at herself when the elevator doors popped open. She was surprised to find she was wearing her house slippers, when did she go home? She couldn't remember going home. She didn't even change from the jeans and t-shirt she had been wearing when she answered the phone in her office...she had no make-up, her hair was a mess, and she was just thankful enough that she remembered to grab her purse before wandering out of her home.

She stopped at his door, her shoulders hung low and her head fell forward to press against his door. She was breaking the rules by being here on a non-visit day. Would he be mad? She didn't know, all she knew was that she needed him. With a shuddering breath Kaoru stood up straight and knocked on the door before she could stop herself.

A moment passed. And another.

Then Kaoru could hear the door unlocking and it swung open. Her red-headed stranger stood there with a glass in his hand and a startled look on his face.

"Kami," He whispered and he looked her up and down.

She must look a sight. Kaoru tried to give him a smile, but it only came out a grimace that started the tears anew.

"What happened?" he asked as he reached out and wrapped one arm around her shoulders to pull her in. He shut and locked the door and set his glass down as he turned her to face him. "Why are you here?"

"I .." Kaoru hung her head. Now that she was here she knew that the reason was far too personal for her handsome stranger to want to deal with. She should have gone home to her family.

"You can tell me." He whispered both hands on her shoulders.

Kaoru looked down at the button up shirt he wore. It was a lovely shade of deep green that made his red hair so beautiful. With tears falling, she looked up at his face. She could instantly see the worry in his eyes turn to pain at the sight of hers. He reached up with both hands and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. But new ones fell just as fast as he swept them away. "I got a call f-from my family this afternoon…"

"Yes?" He dipped his head slightly to catch her eyes.

"Police found my brother today in an empty apartment downtown…he's dead." With that said all semblance of her control broke. She had been in a state of shock since the phone call. She could hardly remember half the things she did, but at that moment she allowed herself to fall apart.

Her stranger didn't say anything. He held her up as her legs gave out and he let her sob like a small child. After a minute or two he scooped her up in his arms and too her to his bedroom where he placed her in bed and pulled a thick quilt over her.

"I'm s-sorry for coming when it's not T-Tuesday." She said between sobs as he tucked the quilt tightly around her.

"Shhh, never mind that." He said in a firm, but not unkind tone. He climbed into bed next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Cry now."

And she did.

She didn't know how long she cried, only that she stopped because her chest hurt, her eyes burned and her head felt like it was about to split open. Her stranger and slipped away from her a few times. Once to bring her tissues, again for some water and now as she had finally quieted down, he was off again and returned with a tray. Kaoru sat up and leaned against the pillows and he set the tray down. There was water and juice, a bowl of hot soup and pain killers. Kaoru gladly took the two white pills and sipped slowly on the hot soup. Every so often a hot tear would roll from her red and swollen eyes. But she had let go of all her grief and all that was left was sadness.

"What do you know? You can talk about it, that you can." He said once she had finished with her meal and he snuggled up beside her once more. His arms were wrapped tightly about her body and he felt surprisingly warm against her skin.

"Not much." Kaoru said after a moment. She felt a little numb now, as if she was dreaming. "He was shot. The empty apartment looked to be a popular hang- out for druggies." She was silent, resting her cheek against his chest. "If my aunt told me anymore, I didn't hear it."

"You were at work?" his breath tickled across her forehead.

"Yes. I don't really remember leaving work, only the urge to get away from the source of the news, the phone." She winced. "I left my best friend just as she went to get us some lunch, I never told her. I bet she's worried about me." Kaoru paused, her eyes closed, breathing in the woody, spicy scent of him. "I guess I went home, but I don't remember. Know I did because I'm wearing my house slippers." The one's he had removed before tucking her into bed. "I just remember running, and then looking out through the cab window. I had no idea where the cabbie was taking me. I thought perhaps I was going home to my family, but then we pulled up to your apartment and I knew I had wanted to be with you right now. I can't face my family, or my friends. I needed someone who would understand…but not be as upset…I needed someone to be strong." She paused a moment, her blue eyes sliding open as she lifted her head. "I'm sorry for needing you to be the strong one.

"It's alright, that it is." His voice was rough and rasped with emotion.

Kaoru closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

… . . …

"He took care of me all that night and all the rest of the day." Kaoru said. It had been a few weeks since she found out about her brother's death. She was sitting on her sofa and the tv droned on at a low volume. Misao sat beside her on the sofa; they were both munching popcorn and sipping soda. It was the first time that the two friends had a chance to sit together and really talk.

"You scared the shit outta me by vanishing like that. When I found out about your bother I rushed over here. I figured you were at home getting ready to stay with your family. I saw that you were here, your door was unlocked, but you weren't here. I figured you had already left to be with your family and had just forgotten to lock your door. I would have understood; you were upset." She shrugged, reaching for another handful of fluffy popped corn. "I had no idea you ran off to be with him."

Kaoru nodded. "He sent me home once he made sure I would be alright. Then I packed up and went home to be with the family."

"I'm still sorry that you lost your brother."

Kaoru could only nod, emotion built up again and the popcorn seemed to stick in her throat as she tried to swallow it. It still hurt to think about Yahiko. "He made some pretty bad friends apparently. He had no drugs in him when they did the autopsy." That made things a little better, at least she and the family knew he didn't get lost down the road of illicit drugs. "He only had a little bit of alcohol in his system."

"Party gone bad?" Misao wondered.

"The police don't know." It was really the first time she had talked about it to anyone other than her family. And the first time she could talk without being overcome with emotion. She went through her time of grief and anger and now all that was left was acceptance.

"You haven't been back to see him, your stranger." Misao brought back the original subject. "You lived without him for almost a month…how was it."

Kaoru was watching the tv without really seeing what was on the screen. She sighed and looked back at Misao. "Hard. At first I was alright because I had so much to think about with the funeral and helping my family. But once it started to settle down and I was back in my right mind…he's all I can think about Misao."

"Tomorrow's one of the days you can go see him right?"

"Right."

"Are you going to go?" Misao sipped from the straw in her soda. "It would be a great time to break it all off you know. You haven't seen him in a while and you even spent some time without him on your mind."

It was true. Kaoru had struggled with the idea for the past two days that she'd been back in town. Had he moved on? Was he waiting for her?

The idea that he had moved on was heart wrenching, but the thought that he might be waiting for her was just as heart wrenching. She couldn't bear the thought of either. It was nice to have the time without him on her mind. And yet that time had been hell. It was all just a ball of confusing emotions rolling around in her gut.

… . . …

In the end, Kaoru knew she had to go see him. She dressed in casual clothes. Jeans and a bright top with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and tied with a ribbon. She put on just a touch of makeup and a swipe of light perfume before heading out. Kaoru twisted her fingers in her lap as she sat in the cab heading across town to his building. What would he say after not seeing her for so long?

Would he be surprised? Upset? Would he not care at all? Did he move on? Was he wondering how she was doing as she was wondering about him? She sighed and rested her head against the glass window. So many thoughts raced through her head. What would Misao think about her going back to him after being away for so long? Misao was right, Kaoru had detoxed herself from this red-headed stranger…now she was going back to him like a clean drug addict taking a hit of his favorite drug. But already she was standing in the front of his building, looking up at the many floors. Nervous and excited, Kaoru took a deep breath and walked to the glass doors.

The main lobby was empty, save the same old guard that had greeted her with a tip of his head and a smile. Again he tipped his head and smiled but then he jumped slightly and held out his hand.

"One moment Ma'am." He said in a kind tone as she disappeared under his desk and shuffled around.

He had never spoken to her before; curious, Kaoru stepped up to the desk as the old man straightened up and handed her an envelope. He didn't say a word, only smiled and tipped his head again.

Dismissed, Kaoru stepped away with the white envelope in her hand. It was blank, nothing telling who it was for or who it was from. Confused, Kaoru opened it and pulled the slip of cream stationary paper and unfolded it.

Strong yet wispy handwriting greeted her.

_My Dear Beautiful Stranger, _

_You came to me in your time of need. I'm glad you did. I was glad I was able to help you, even if it was to just give you a shoulder to cry on. But I realized I could no longer go on with this game with you. I was getting too personal, you were getting to personal. And the main problem was that I liked it. My Stranger, I can't give you what you need. Not yet. _

_Forgive me. Your Stranger. _

Kaoru found herself rushing to the elevator before she even finished the last line. What did he mean he could no longer give her what she needed? Was he telling her it was time to move on? Why would he tell her in a letter? It didn't seem like him.

After what felt like ages the elevator door slide open and Kaoru rushed into the hall but came up short when she saw her stranger's door propped open. Two uniformed men were walking back and fourth from the apartment to a small cart that sat in the hall. Kaoru stepped forward and stole a peek in her stranger's apartment.

It was empty.

They were cleaning it and getting it ready for the next renter the uniformed workers had told her when they saw her gazing in. Kaoru stood stunned at the door way. There was nothing she could do, so slowly, Kaoru turned and headed back to the elevator.

* * *

a/n…Kaoru is in shock poor thing. First Yahiko, now this. Where did he go? What will she do now? Reviewers! What should happen now? Ideas are welcomed.


	6. Chapter 6

A/n Wow! I thought I had this story in the bag, but this chapter gave me issues for some reason. I always have such a hard time with the last chapter. Well, thank you all for joining me in this little adventure. I think I'll keep writing these little Mini fics more often. Happy reading!

* * *

A day went by, then a second and Kaoru found herself sitting at her desk, gazing off into space when she should be working. She was still bothered by the disappearance of her stranger. It hurt when he left, Kaoru had gone home that day and cried.

It was as if the pain of losing Yahiko had reopened. But this wound was different; the pain was in another place in her heart. It didn't hurt any less or any worse than when she lost her brother…it was just a different kind of pain. Kaoru let her pain come…she let it hurt and she cried. But when she exhausted her tears and her eyes dried up; the pain ebbed away with it. Now, the day after being shattered by his disappearance, Kaoru was back to work but she was less than functional. Her mind wandered elsewhere. Her red-headed stranger had always told her that the relationship they had was temporary. He had told her he always ended the relationship when things got too personal.

But he stopped her from leaving when he caught her trying to find his name in his mail. To Kaoru, that lit the tiny flame of hope that he liked her and he liked her enough that he would change. In his letter he said he liked that they were becoming personal…and that that was the whole problem.

Perhaps he had caught himself falling down that same slippery path that Kaoru had slide down early in their relationship. He was just stronger than her…he was able to catch himself and pull away before he landed at the bottom of the slope right there next to Kaoru.

Kaoru was able to pull herself together only because she didn't want to let what her stranger taught her to be in vain. What they had was just something for them to relax about, one less thing to be stressed for. Relationships were confusing, complicated and emotional draining. Especially if they weren't working out. What they had was a way for them to have what they needed without the attachment. Kaoru went into this relationship knowing this. She had agreed to it taken advantage of it and now it was time to let go.

Kaoru sighed and sat back in her chair with a lapful of fabric samples. She leafed through them many times for she was having trouble focusing on their colors and patterns. She needed to get her mind back on her work. But after a few minutes of struggling, Kaoru found her temper rising and she threw the fabric swatches on her desk and surged out of her chair. She couldn't say in these four walls anymore. Not today. If her stranger had taught her anything, it was to take advantage of the thought the moment you have it. And right now, she was thinking of taking the rest of the day off. So without thinking on it further, she marched out of her office, swiped her card to clock out of work and waved goodbye to the startled secretary.

Once outside though, she stood on the sidewalk and watched the traffic ebb and flow in front of her.

"Kaoru? Whatcha doing?" Misao asked as she walked up on her best friend. Misao was loaded down with plastic bags full of paper wrapped food and bento boxes. Looked like once again Misao was sent out to gather lunches for their floor.

Kaoru turned to her friend and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry Misao. I just need to get away from here."

A worried look flashed in her eyes. "Is everything alright?"

Kaoru waved her worries away. "It's okay Misao, I'm just getting smothered in there. I need some air."

Misao nodded, relief in her eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"I was going to take a cab to the park maybe, but I don't feel like getting in a cab." Kaoru said cryptically. She sighed. "I need to get my car fixed."

"Pish, with all that's gone wrong with it, you should just get a new car." Misao turned. "I better get going while the food is still hot so they don't crucify me in there. Bye Kaoru."

Kaoru gazed off into the rush of traffic. "Bye Misao." Suddenly she had an idea.

… . . …

Kaoru had transformed.

Everyone noticed. Her family, her coworkers and mostly Misao. They watched her bustle around the office like an eager intern wanting to prove herself. Three accounts that she had been struggling on for weeks were done within days. Her clothes went from work casual to sexy professional. At the moment she was wearing a deep blue skirt that hugged her curves and ended just below her knees. Her blouse was silk and a deep purple wine shade that complimented the blue gems that were her eyes. With black wire glasses and her hair done up in a sloppy bun and black pumps she cut a startling different figure than she was seven days ago.

"So who is he?" Misao asked on Friday. The young woman perched herself on the corner of Kaoru's desk. A desk that was crowded, yet organized rather than sloppy, as it had been two days ago.

"What?" Kaoru gave Misao a confused look as she swiped a shimmering nude gloss on her lips.

"The guy who's caused you to…" Misao waved her hands over at Kaoru…. "change." She finished.

Kaoru's shoulders dropped a little. "You don't like it."

"No! no, no, that's not what I mean. I like it a lot. You look wonderful." Misao assured. "I just wanna know why. Did you meet a man?"

Kaoru relaxed. "No. I think I'm going to swear off men for a little while and just take care of me for a bit."

"Seems to be working." Misao smiled. "You're practically glowing."

Kaoru's cheeks colored slightly. She dressed to make herself feel good, she didn't really think about what others thought about it. Misao's words made her happy. "Yeah, though that creepy guy in office six keep drooling."

"Kaoru the women are drooling, look at you!" Her friend nearly squealed. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Thanks, I do feel great."

Misao grinned. "I heard you got offered a big account."

Again Kaoru blushed a little. "The boss-man liked my last job." She explained.

"Worried?"

"Nah, If I can't handle it, I'll just let them know so they can give it to another or get me some help."

Misao whistled. "Wow, you would have rather died than to lose a project."

"Normally yes, but that was the old Kaoru. Now I know there are more important things in life. And I'm not above needing help; this isn't something I need to stress over. I can't give it my all if I'm falling apart."

"Kami, you sound like a grown-up." Misao laughed.

… . . …

The work day was over, it was the weekend, Kaoru stood and stretched. She gathered her fabric samples and placed them all safely in her work bag before clocking out. Once on the ground floor Kaoru walked out the revolving glass doors at the front of the building. Her high heels clicked loudly in the silence of the main floor. Seems everyone started the weekend early. Warm air hit her once she reached outside. She smiled, closed her eyes and turned her face up at the rapidly setting sun. In truth…she was happy for the things her stranger had taught her in the short time they were together. Life was about the simple, uncomplicated things. Like the sunset.

Opening her eyes, Kaoru turned to the parking garage where her new Suzuki Wagon waited. She finally turned in that beat up old car for something reliable. It was small, and painted metallic blue and it was perfect for her. However, something red and flashy caught her eye. Glancing to the side, Kaoru felt her breath catch and her heart came to a stuttering halt.

A bright red sporty looking car sat on the side of the road and standing on the curb, leaning against the car, was her red-headed stranger.

Kaoru turned to him, but found herself frozen to the spot. It had been so many weeks since she had seen him last, but he was just as she remembered. Surprisingly he was in casual jeans, with a black polo. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck and he wore dark sunglasses. He stood there, leaning against the expensive looking car with his arms crossed and a guarded look on his face.

Kaoru took a breath, placed on a smile and started walking towards him as if he were an old friend.

Her stranger's lips tipped upward and he pulled off the sunglasses and tucked them away. He pushed away from the car while Kaoru came to a stop an arm's length away.

"Hello, Stranger." The irony didn't escape her. She prayed she looked as confident as she could with her legs shaking and sweat beading on her skin.

"Hello." He started. He cleared his throat and took a half step closer. "I'm sorry I've been absent."

Kaoru shrugged. "You have nothing to be sorry about." She said truthfully. "What we had wasn't supposed to be permanent."

"Heh, that's true." Her stranger gave a slight laugh.

Kaoru glanced to the side. "You have a car…and I nice one too."

For a moment he looked a bit sheepish.

"Why do you ride around in a cab if you have such a great car?"

"I don't like traffic." He gave a shrug. "And riding in a cab is more adventurous."

Kaoru leveled her eyes at his amethyst ones and tried not to fall too deep into them. "Really?"

"Well it was how I met you, that it was."

Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and she hoped he couldn't hear it. He was just as wonderful as she remembered. She realized, with a jolt, that it was the first time she had seen her stranger out in the daylight. His hair was life fire under the light of the swiftly setting sun; his eyes were much bigger and brighter than she remembered. His skin was in fact fair and delicate looking. He was pretty in the most masculine way. The silence stretched longer and longer between them and Kaoru panicked, not knowing how to break it. Then, with a mental slap she took a page from his book, just be truthful.

"So what happened to you? I went to see you…" she paused. "Wait," she held up her hand. "You don't have to tell me anything."

"No, No." He lifted his hands and caught hers. "No I want to tell you, that I do."

"But-"

"No, just listen." He licked his lips and shifted his weight quickly. He drew her hand to his body. "I want to get personal."

"Excuse me?" did she hear him right?

"I want to be personal. I want to share things with you…things about me. I want to know more about you."

"But what about just having fun and moving on?" Kaoru wanted to take her hand back, but couldn't bring it to herself to pull away from his grasp when it felt so good.

"I don't want to let you go." Again he licked his lips. "Being with you, it broke all my own rules." He broke eye contact and looked up at the sky for a moment, a small laugh escaping him before he looked back at her. "I never should of let you come back after that first night." He ran his hand though this hair. "I wanted to see you again, I wanted to know more about you…that was against my number one rule, to never get attached." He took a breath, seeing the bewildered look on her face. "I was doomed when I let you get in the cab." He said with a sigh.

Kaoru took a breath…he wanted to know her more? But then... "Where did you go?"

"I had things I needed to do. Strings to tie up before I could allow myself the be personal with you."

"You moved out of your apartment. I thought you were gone."

He winced. "I didn't like that apartment anyways."

"Well, where are you now?"

"I bought a dojo."

Kaoru's eyes went wide. "A dojo?"

"I like to teach." He shrugged one shoulder. "It's a large place, I would like to show it to you. Maybe after dinner?"

He sounded so hopeful. Kaoru relaxed. "I would like that. I didn't know you could teach swordsmanship?"

"I taught for a while, years ago. It's full of moving boxes right now." He said with a laugh. "You'll just have to visualize what it'll look like when it's done."

Kaoru grinned. "I can visualize. I also know a great place not far from here that makes a really good beef hotpot."

Her stranger grinned. "A date?"

"A date." She said with a nod.

He took a step back and held out his hand and took hers. "Hi…I'm Kenshin Himura."

Kaoru had to blink to keep the stubborn tears from welling up. "I'm Kaoru Kamiya… Nice to meet you Kenshin."

* * *

a/n I hope the ending wasn't too simple. I wanted to leave it very open to give it a feeling of new and hopefulness. I'm glad I was able to share it with all of you. And I enjoyed all the wonderful reviews. Really you guys are the best for reviewing and putting up with my procrastination in this and all my other stories. I do this for you guys, really. Your reviews are my payment for these chapters; it's what makes it all worth it. I hope to continue writing these mini fics as they seem less overwhelming than a full blown epic fic. Love you guys! Thanks for reading and reviews are loved!


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